Chapter 20

Altdorf, Temple of Shallya, same date

Ralf Winkler was looking at the Statue of Shallya for 15 min minutes now-but he had
not been seeing it for most of the time. The complex of buildings that were used by
the Shallya cult in Altdorf contained a temple open to the public. This he had
picked as a meeting place with Serena 2 nights ago.
Being German meant he went early and having read too many espionage novels meant he
had planned to scout the place a little before the meeting, whatever good this
might have done him. This had gone so far that he had noted the absence of armed
guards and two possible exits before he had sat down on one of the benches
provided.
He had settled for the wait when he started looking at the statue in front of him.
Ever since them he had felt comfortable and strangely at peace. He was not even
aware that some of the mental knots that many years of being even a part-time medic
had inevitably left were easing off, he just felt….well.

He was still aware enough of his surroundings not to be startled when he was
approached by two priestesses of Shallya, one of them being Serena and he managed
to get to his feet in time.
"Good morning Minher Winkler, may I present the reverent Mother Herad to you."
"Reverend Mother, Serena, it is an honor to meet you."
"Shallyas mercy be with you young man." Ralf had not been called that for far too
many years in his mind, but the crone in front of him had any right to call him
"young man" . That she was old was beyond question, but exactly how old was very
hard to guess as a wrinkled face and wispy white hair contrasted with a straight
bearing and hands which were totally free of shakes and a firm voice.

"So you are the man who has one of the 5 amulets in his possession and who claims
that Shallya works her mercy even through him?" The medic would normally have risen
to that, but now simply pulled the artifact from under his shirt and placed it on
his chest, it`s sight doing the talking much better than him.
Herad was too composed to be startled in public but neither did she have the
facilities to comment intelligently on this. "I claim nothing, Reverend Mother. I
have taken the amulet from the Battlefield of Hag Graef and find that it helps me
saving lives. I would like to know more about it and I am willing to negotiate its
disposition"
"Can we do this in more private quarters or are you too much threatened by us?"
"Don`t goad me Herad, it is does not become a healer. Please lead the way."

Office of the Mother Herad, Shallya Temple, 30 Minutes later

The medic found the peace he had experienced in the temple wearing off under the
repeated explanations of the Shallya Priestess "I understand that this is a magical
artifact that has been lost to your order for many years and that it would greatly
enhance your capabilities if you could use it together with the other 4 you still
have Mother-no need to tell me again. But please also understand that this amulet
help me to do my tasks better than before. Where to leave it with you and I have to
work on the next patient and loose him-what can I say then-ups sorry, Shallyas cult
needed it more than you needed your life?"

"What would your government say if we tell them you are withholding this amulet
from us" "Officially-not much, as I did not steal it from you but took it from the
Spitzohren which are not highly regarded in Germany. Unofficially they will take it
away from me and will study it at Kaiserslautern for the next 100 years or so, and
a fat lot of good that will do to you. Reverent Mother, I react very badly to
threats, even veiled ones-I strongly suggest we take another path of negotiation
from here, or it will be over soon."
"And what path would you be willing to take, pray tell?" "If you can show me you
can do something with it that is more than or a decent medical facility in Germany
could do with it, I would be more willing to listen."
"And how could we do that?" "I have something in mind-a fellow soldier has a
condition beyond the capabilities of the best German doctors to treat. If you could
help him, we are talking."
"Shallya is always willing to help the sick, please tell me more"

Haltdorf, half-way between Altdorf and Nuln, evening of the same day

Father Hark was bending over a book, not a tome about the deeds of Sigmar, but a
ledger. When he had finished his studies at the Temple of Sigmar in Altdorf, this
was not what he had expected to be doing.
But his fit with his current posting-this was also not what the Sigmarite had
envisioned when he had taken his vows, but like his current duties it was strange
but welcome. Haltdorf was a brand spanking new village growing into a small town in
what used to be a nameless piece of Forest between Altdorf and Nuln. No noble had
stepped forward to organize and rule this village as had been the norm with the
first "Railway Colonies"-now that everybody understood the importance of Railroads
the aristocrats were much more interested.
When the Imperial German railroad had advertised the opportunity to receive free
land a lot of former soldiers, 2nd and 3rd sons of farmers and others were eager to
take them up on it-but no leadership and no immediate financing was available.

Before this became an insurmountable problem the Germans stepped in with a

solution. They had helped the new communities by setting up Credit Unions for each
of the colonies and used the old Raiffeisen cooperatives as a mold.
The Raiffeisen banks in Germany provided starting capital, taking the land of the
colony as collateral.
Every Villager was a member, all members had the right to draw credit within
certain limits-and all members were personally liable for the credits give to other
members. The village paid Father Hark to act as cashier as they trusted him, with
the elected town major and the local teacher as a board of trustees.

The Raiffeisen advisors which had come to the village during it`s first weeks had
stressed the 3 "S" to everybody "Selbsthilfe, Selbstverwaltung,
Selbstverantwortung" (Self-help, Self-governance and self-responsibility) which fit
the new settlers well as it should to anybody who was grasping a chance to start
fresh in the middle of nowhere.
The credit given had stretched enough so that most farmers could actually afford a
"Lanz" and some accessories like reapers or threshers. The cooperative, besides
giving credit and a savings accounts also provided warehousing and a common selling
point for the farmers who were happy to leave somebody else with that hassle and
concentrate on their lots.

The attachment that a Lanz could power which proved among the most useful were
power saws. The cutting back of the forest from the railroad had provided a glut of
usable wood, even after the wood for the railroad ties were taken into account. So
using their new tools the Settlers were able to have all the lumber they could ask
for.
The farm houses were actually loghouses, sturdy and weatherproof, warehouses and
some stores were constructed from boards. One of the pleasant changes was that
nails were so cheap these days and some new models were much stronger than before.

Father Hark had protested his second job, mostly because this arithmetic was
atrocious until one Raiffeisen advisor had sprung the holy of holies of
accountants- a pocket calculator. The Sigmarite had the suspicion that some
villagers just visited him just to see it work.
The Settlement had to look after its own defense mostly, but that proved to be less
of a problem than feared. There was more than enough wood for a Palisade about the
"Core Village" and the railroad workers had been nice enough to form an earthen
embankment as a basis for the Palisade with their heavy machinery when they laid
the railroad.
There were enough soldiers around to form the core of a militia and they were
training practically everybody in the use of arms. Besides the ubiqous spears they
had received some crossbows-their former wielders now converting to rifles.

The militia even had some opportunity to prove themselves, even if that came from
an unexpected side. Before the last harvest the usual loan sharks had come calling,
looking for farmers hungry for any cash to lend it at usurious rates. Having gotten
the same answer several times-we do not need you, we have the Credit Union, they
had finally given Father Hark a call. He had explained patiently that the Union
gave credit for a 5% rate annually which left the sharks blinking in surprise.
That they had asked Father Hark to cease doing to was either a show of desperation
or stupidity-or both. He had to present his Hammer of Sigmar to them to get them to
leave. That had not kept them to come back a couple of days later, bringing a score
of low-brow thugs with them to led some reinforcement to their arguments.
It was not a real battle or a skirmish, more like shooting fish in a barrel but the
locals were still proud of the accomplishment and the severed heads on the palisade
had served as sufficient warning for the rest of the season.

The priest was about to stop idly musing about the accomplishments when there was a
knock on his door. Looking to the small clock on his desk he remembered the date he
had set with Farmer Eberhard. He had asked him for guidance earlier today and had
set the meeting for the evening.
Getting the farmer into a recess in his small chapel he waited patiently until the
farmer had found his words he was able to puzzle out what he wanted:

"So your son was good enough at the test that he get a stipend at the DEULA" "Yes,
they promised that they would teach him for two years, give him board and lodging
and send him back for the harvest."
"That is surely a good thing. From what I have heard these schools teach the German
farmer`s children for generations. They will teach him how to use all the new stuff
we have right, writing and some numbers as well. That would be very handy."
"Yes, I guess so. But there is so much new, I am not sure if it is all to the good
and not leading us astray" "Why do you say so? You live in a nice house now, isn`t
that much better than the old hovel?" "Yes, it is" "And can you not farm many more
acres now with the Lanz you bought?" "Yes Father" "And didn´t we have no case of
the runs since we no longer mix our shit and the drinking water?" "No, I do not
think we had one" "And I think you bought one of the new stoves they make in Nuln
didn`t you." "Yes, me wife insistent on it, and I have to admit it is real nice-but
please don`t tell her that"
"So why do you get the idea the changes we see of lately are bad? I do believe
Sigmar himself would have approved of making our lives easier"

"Ah, Father, it is like this, I found this with me son"

The Farmer thrust a paper into the priests hands. It was folded two times and was
covered with the bright "Photo" that the Germans could print even if this page was
obviously older and a little frayed. He could not immediately find anything wrong
with the paper until he turned it over. It showed a "Miss July" of several years
ago in all of her centerfold glory.
Father Hark was very happy of the wide robe that he wore as it hid his "gentlemen
reflex" effectively. "Errm, that is rather remarkable. A little slim for my taste,
but I can see your bother. I will talk to your son if you wish me too, but really
Eberhard, what harm did this do?"
"It will lead him astray" "In what way?""Errrr…."

Altdorf, Railway Station, Markttag

The Class 01 locomotive which pulled the train into the Altdorf train station was
less prestigious than the emperors train of course, but still a spectacle for
somebody more used to the quiet electric trains in Germany.
Ralf Winker was quite anxious for the passengers-he had not seen his wife for more
than 2 weeks and was rather looking forward to her. At the same time he just hoped
that he had not overpromised to the other passengers he was about to meet.

It didn`t take him long to spot the 3 Germans which exit the train-two blonde women
helping a middle aged but frail man out of the train stood out. After wordlessly
embracing Christine he greeted the others. "Hi Beate, Hi Jan, good to see you" In
the case of Jan Frediksen this was a lie-he liked his former Lt. and they were
friends-but he was a sorry sight.
The combination of the Druchii poison and the atropine antidote had wrecked the
nervous system of the formerly stout man beyond repair. Parkinson-like shivers and
cramps made it impossible for the man to look after himself or hold a job. Both of
this had pushed the once proud soldier into bouts of depression and the sight of
the old/young body and face was horrible, especially for somebody who had known the
Lt. before.

"Please wait for a second-I have arranged for a Palanquin for Jan, the rest of us
can hoof it to the Tavern-it is not that far.
Some time later he was confronted by Beate, Jan`s wife, in their room while Jan was
off to the bathroom. "I really hope you know what you are doing Ralf-Jan has pinned
every hope he has left on this mad enterprise. If you just have contacted some
hedge wizard who is long on promise and short on abilities it will destroy him."

"I know-but I could also not take what I see as his best chance from him. And no, I
did not contact a minor wizard-tomorrow we have a first appointment with the Mother
Superior of the Shallya cult"
"What-how did you swing that?" "Let`s say I have something they want-but by now
they are not really sure what they want of me-just that they want it badly. Nothing
illegal-I think. We will see more tomorrow, shall we?"

Great Forest, close to the hearthstone, same day

Garek Brightfur had assembled his warherd-again. This time he could not be so
certain of the enemy as before. One of the competing herds at the periphery of the
area he regarded as his had simply disappeared-and likewise had his scouts.
Whatever had taken them out seemed to did it violently, but that was as far as his
knowledge went. Not only were his scouts gone for good, but his shaman went into
convulsions when he tried to gain information in his special way. He did not
remember what happened but was shaken ever since. This did not ease Garek peace of
mind any.

As his territory had no real defensive features besides the Forest itself he
decided that his best chances lay in a similar battle to the last two in more or
less open territories. Normally the sight of his full herd would fill him with
pride-it had swollen again after the last battles when survivors and unattached
males submitted to him to become part of a warherd again-his latest victories had
given him land and cows enough to make such an expansion possible.
The new members were even more open to his new way of waging war, having seen its
results from the pointy end. The committed to the unfamiliar drill and the new
style of fighting with the zeal of converters giving him by now a rather hard core
of fighters.

The ordered lines which formed on the near side of the long firebreak covered half
a kilometer with orderly blocks of beastmen. By now his army was so big that he had
to think about how to control them as simply bellowing louder seemed no longer to
work.
Also assembling them in one place like he did now was something not to be done
lightly-the forrest around them could not support so many. Maybe there was a way to
store provisions and maybe have the cows carry them to the fighters? Ah, idle
thinking just to distract him from his main job.

All thoughts came to an end when the brushwork on the opposite side of the clearing
started to move visibly and rustling could be heard. First to emerge were other
beastmen, mostly the fleet-of-foot Ungors and some scrawny looking humans. Some of
them scrambled right back into the woods and soon the sound of many horns could be
heard, the baying of enormous dogs and the shouts of orders.
It did not take long for the opposite side of the forest to disgorge a huge and
diverse army. Armored knights stood beside bare breasted Barbarians. Heaps of Gors
and Ungors were directed by aspiring Champions of Chaos. Both the length of the
enemy line and the depth to which the units deployed showed that the enemies army
was far bigger and from the look much better equipped than his own.
The little magesight he had indicated that his opponent also commanded considerable
magic support whereas his own was nearly out of the picture. He was wondering if
going back to the woods and dispensing were not the better idea when a huge armored
figure holding a banner showing an eight-pointed star strode to the middle of the
clearing.

His voice sounded much too loud and deep to come from any human throat. "Greetings
Garek Brightfur- my master wants to meet you. Come to the this place so that you
and him can meet-that is my advice. If you do not come and decide to fight or even
flee this battlefield you will be destroyed without mercy-that is my warming. Come
here and until the end of the talks you no harm will befall you-this is my promise.
I am Björn Bearclaw and so is my rede."

Garek was taken aback by this-this was not how battles were begun with the Children
of Chaos. As it seemed he had not much too loose he straightened up and marched to
the lone figure.
"I am Garek Brightfur, the Doombull of this warherd. Who is your master and why can
he not show himself."
There was no immediate answer but a rider detached himself from the army. When he
came closer Garek could see how big the horse was on which the rider sat-it has
looked like normal at first glance because it had the right proportions to the
rider. Now it was obvious both were a lot bigger than any mundane human or horse
should be and his extra senses showed how strongly the warp was in both.
The eyes of the horse were so black that it seemed the sockets were empty and the
helmet of the rider showed only darkness where a face should have been.
"I am Harbinger, General of this Army, Champion of Chaos and Herald of Archaron the
Everchosen. I am here to prepare you for the coming Storm"

Hellenthal, Eifel, Germany, 29th Pflugzeit

In the center of the small town there was a remembrance stone for the people, who
lost their life during the massacre and dark magic ritual in the early days after
Germany´s arrival on the Warhammer World. Hellenthal had been close to a border
with the untamed wilderness of the Old World and so a group of Chaos devotees had
assaulted the town, well before anybody knew how dangerous Germany´s new home was.
Among the fifty people bringing flowers and praying for the souls of the slain,
there were 4 survivours of that bloody night. One among them stood out even more
than others. The man, wearing his police uniform, stood over two metres tall, with
short, straw-blond hair. Kommissar (Police Lieutenant) Ibrahim Duerr´s normally
piercing blue eyes let escape a bit of the deep sorrow in his heart.
His father, whose body was still in Hellenthal as a stone figure, had been a
professor of Histroy and Archeology body and soul, which was the reason that the
young police officer had such an unusual name for german standards.
For some reason, every time Ibrahim stood at the stone, his stomach scar made
itself known with phantom pain. His brain knew that he did more than his share that
night, could not have done more. Duerr had saved over 20 people, even while
seriously wounded, but his heart still ached. Mama, Papa, I know you found each
other in Heaven again. I love you! I wish I could have done more, saved you.
Forgive me that I was too late!
I am part of a newly found special force now. We look into all supernatural
activities. We are the defence against the darkness which consumed our hometown and
the people we knew and loved. I and my collegues will make sure that there will be
no other Hellenthal ever again. We will root out the Evil that threatens Germany or
die trying. When we will have pushed the darkness back into the miasma that bore
it, I hope you can rest easier.
The sudden wind, which seemed to caress Ibrahim´s blond hair, somehow made his
heart beat lighter.

After the ceremony, the group was transported back by parts of the newly reformed
7th. Panzerdivision, nicknamed for their old incarnation the "Gespensterdivision"
(Ghost Division). Hellenthal was a restricted area, so civilians only as mourning
groups under military protection could enter the cursed zone.

Altdorf, Office of the Mother Superior, Bäckertag

"The suffering of your fellow soldier is great, I grant you that. I have never seen
such a sickness before. It looks like the great shakes-what you call Parkinson's
disease, but it is not-there are differnt type of cramps. What did you say causes
this?"
Ralf Winkler had retreated into the office of the Mother Superior Evers after
having performed what went for diagnosis in the cult of Shallya to discuss a plan
of action.
"Mother Superior, from my best knowledge this sickness is not one of the brain,
like Parkinson, but the problem arises from the axons, the nerve endings. Many of
there were damaged by the Dark Elf poison or the antidote that I used. There must
be enough working nerve endings-otherwise he would not be breathing. Now, if we
could copy their function to…..

"Healer Winkler-I do not understand one word in two you are issuing. This not how
we can go forward unfortunately. Come on young man, give me your hand"
Ralf obeyed-the Mother Superior was like that-but wondered why until both he and
the Shallya healer went into something close to a cramp, with their eyes both
turned inwards. This lasted for a few minutes which seemed eternal in the minds of
the other cult members. Finally the released their grips, both slinking back into
their seats and breathing heavily.
Evers recovered first despite her age and rung a bell on her table.

"Bring a goblet of the blessed wine and two glasses for me and the healer-we need
it" She turned to the medic who was massaging his temples "So this is how you see
the human body-a system of what small small, single …
"Cells, Mother cells"
"Yes, that. And nerves and a closed blood stream-did I see that right? No flow of
Chi, no balance of humors-do you think we have it so wrong? Do you think you see
this as it is?"

"No, I do not. The things as they really are are too complicated to be seen
directly. We all have our own model of reality, like the puppet house which shows a
merchants daughter how her household is supposed to work in future. Much simpler-
but shows the main works. You have a different model than me, but I am very sure
that my model is much closer to the truth. I hope I can explain to you enough
that…"
"Forget it young man-you cannot explain enough in 10 long years and we have to
rededicate the amulet for anybody else anyway-your friend does not have that long.
So as distasteful as it might seem to some members of us-the first time that the 5
amulets work together in so many years will include a man. We can take the
knowledge from you and will provide the power…that could work.
"Thank you Mother Superior for the chance"
"It is what we do. But Winkler-next time discipline your thoughts a little better.
I know that your wife arrived just yesterday, but still..."
Ralf Winker had the decency to blush.

Castle Wolfenfels, exercise field, Kings Day

For Sergeant Blaskowics the jury was still out on the footmen he had been given to
work with. On the one hand they were dirty, ignorant of many basic facts, showed
many of the signs of youth malnutrition and lack of hygiene and dental care.
On the other hand these were the soldiers who were expected to confront unspeakable
evils and NOT run, to engaging their enemies in brutal hand to hand combat and NOT
flinch and to keep going on really minimal supplies.

Their ignorance was also not the ignorance of societies which desperately tried to
cling to outmoded concepts but of a world which simply did not know better yet.
Basically he trusted these men-but whether they would be able to grasp what he had
to teach them he did not know yet.
"Listen up men, this is where you learn about your new weapons. Let me present to
you your new best friend, the Carabine 98 K. It is a rifle which proved its mettle
in literally thousands of battles and skirmishes. It can hit and kill a man-sized
target at 500 meters and groups of enemies at an even longer range. It holds 5
rounds in a magazine, so you will have to reload from a clip only after 5 shots.
Once you are well trained you should be able to shoot 12 aimed rounds a minute with
this. The Carabine shoots the same 7.62mm ammo then our rifles and machine guns, it
is plenty lethal.
And if the enemy is too close or you are out of ammo you can use the Bayonet which
allows you to get close and personal.
I have arranged a short demonstration for you. Marksman Erk, step forward."

"As you can see I have arranged for a number of targets at different ranges: two
sets of 4 wooden wooden boards each at 50 and 100 meters, and 2 more clay pots at
200 and 400 up the slope. Marksman Erk, shoot the first two targets"
"Aye Aye Ser" The Footman lifted his crossbow, took aim through the stbilising fins
on his bolt and fired it into the first target. The bolt penetrated the first board
and struck in the second. Erk put the crossbow down, put his foot into the step at
the front of the weapon and pulled the drawstring back in several pulls of a
special lever.
Putting another bolt into the furrow he lifted the crossbow back up. From the angle
at which he had to lift the crossbow the onlookers could already see that this
target was at the limits of the weapons range. The bolt still flew true and hit the
board somewhat off-center but failed to penetrate the first board fully. The time
between the first and second shot was about 20 seconds
"Thank you Marksman Erk, well done"

Blaskowics stepped forward and lifted the rifle to his shoulder. Taking aim through
a visor which was taken from the G3 Battle rifle he squeezed off the rounds for the
first two targets in short succession. The bullets penetrated all 4 boards easily.
Taking a little more time he shot the far off targets from a kneeling position,
hitting all 4 Targets center in less than the time the marksman had taken for his
two shots. He then fired another shot into the 100 meter target, reloaded from a
clip and fired off 5 more shots, all in less than a minute.
"So folks, with what do you want to go to your next battle?"
The wordless roar he got was more than a satisfactory answer.

Castle Wolfenfels, Great Hall, later in the evening

"Lieutenant, can you cut me some of that roast?" Baron Heinrich was taking the Lt.
more and more as his Dinner partner these days as this was one of the better ways
to get info from the German. After getting the slice and with half full mouth he
continued.

"I spoke to some of my footmen that got their first instruction about their new
equipment today. Very impressive or so I have heard-I thank you for that gift. Do
not think of me as impolite, but I see your soldiers carry totally different
rifles-why is that?"
"Ah-you have a good eye Count. Several reasons-our rifles are new and still a
little bit experimental. We do not want to bother you with weapons which could be
temperamental, but we can still exchange ammo with your soldiers. Secondly our
rifles are far more complicated. We are brought up in a technical society and are
more used in their upkeep-your men are not. Also we have less problems to send out
weapons to a depot if something is seriously wrong-your blacksmith can surely not
repair them. Do not feel slighted here please; we gave your men weapons which have
worked well in countless battles."

"And that is all there is too it?"

"Ah, well…."
"Come on man"
"There is our experience and that of the Empire as well that weapons you hand out
to allies end up with the wrong parties. Remember when the Skaven got their paws on
some bundle musket a few years ago? These days they fight with their bleeding
"Ratling Cannon". I would not enjoy to face a warpstone powered version of a
machine gun"
"Understandable, and thanks for the honesty. I hope you will trust us enough
someday to give us your better weapons" "I hope so as well sire"

Close to Altdorf, inside a Passenger Train, Sigmarstag

The train stood at an odd angle due to its derailment, smoke from various sources
combined with the power outage and the lack of outside light to restrict
visibility. Only the battery powered emergency lights shed their red light on the
scene adding to the creepy atmosphere.

Joakim Voss ignored the corpses strewn on the floor pushing his squad forward in a
search for the attackers who had wrought such havoc. Advancing in 2 groups of 4
soldiers each alternatively with 4 providing cover for the moving group before
advancing themselves they checked out the first wagon assigned to them and stopped
at the connector to the next wagon.

Pushing a mirror on an extensible pole into the next wagon Joakim tried to get a
picture of what awaited them there. It seemed to be more of the same so his first
group took their positions on both sides of the door to spring forward on his sign.
Covering the right flank of his group he scanned the corner of the wagon, found it
empty and was about to turn back to the front when one of the corpses rose quickly
brandishing a sabre he had hidden under him.
Joakim brought the barrel of his shotgun back into line with the attacker while
shouting "Contact" to alert his squad just to have the barrel deflected by a sabre
thrust which missed his hand by just a hair.

The Landwehr Feldwebel found himself in a bad position-he could not back up because
of the limited space for himself and his group and he blocked the line of sight for
the rest of his group. His attacker was huge-probably nearly 2 meters high even
without the helmet and his strange armor hinted at a powerful physique. Joakim had
to use his gun again to parry another thrust by the sabre, but managed to deflect
the next attack over his shoulder. Turning his shotgun under the blade he drove the
stock into the helmet of the attacker, stunning him long enough to align the barrel
with the chest and pull the trigger twice.

The splashes of red on his armored vest did not distract him from taking control of
his squad again, pushing forward through the next wagon. Detailing two soldiers to
take care of first aid for injured passengers his squad pushed forward to the end
of the wagon, checking all "corpses" with renewed vigor. One of the unmoving bodies
was indeed another assailant, but this one did not even manage to get up before
shots by two squad members totaled him.
Arriving at the end of the wagon his trusty mirror showed another Landwehr squad
which had cleared their end of the train. The fact that only 5 squad members were
to be seen hinted that this unit had fared less well than his own.

He was discussing the next steps with the Feldwebel from the 2nd squad when a
shrill whistling sound brought an end to that. The PA system which suddenly worked
again sounded a welcome "Endex, Endex" to announce the end of this exercise and the
lights revealed the specially prepared wagons in all their used-up glory.
Walking back to "their" end of the training area Joakim helped the formerly sabre
wielding attacker up on his feet who had been a little groggy from the hit on his
helmet.

The member of the "Red Team" pulled his helmet off and revealed a head crowned by a
shock of dishwater blonde hair. "Wow, it`s hot in here." The swordsman pulled his
paintball-strained padded training armor open at the chest to cool down, showing an
Amon Amarth "Surtur Rising" T-Shirt below.

Seeing the red face Joakim had to ask "All ok?"

"Yes, no problem. Nice move there, I did not see that coming."
"You nearly had me before-couple of centimeters higher and you would have rapped me
along the knuckles. But: I think I saw you before, but cannot place you. Can you
help?"
"Henrik Gerber, at your service. We probably met at the German border-I am with
customs normally when the Landwehr does not send me out to teach the finer points
of melee weapons."
"Joakim Voss of the Imperial German Railroad. You are right-I saw you at the
border. I usually punch the tickets at the Berlin-Altdorf train."

"Ah that's why I think I recognize you-weren`t you the guy who took care of that
Chaos Raid on the train to Altdorf" "Me and a lot of other people"
"I believe you, asshole, I truly do"
"Stop it, I did not say that, really"
"I believe you….."
"Please can it-I am not Clint Eastwood. Sorry, I have to look after my people-see
you at the "after-postop-beer"
"You got a deal"

Papenburg, Main Quay, left side same day

Master Commers lifted a jug of thin ale to his boatswain who was sitting across the
table in the wardroom of the barque "Frederike". This was the last evening they had
in Papenburg before they would go back to the Empire. They hailed from one of the
Empires smaller ports and had taken their time to make their first trip to Germany,
making sure they had good sailing instructions and an idea on what cargo to take.
Most of the crew were ashore to celebrate what was already a very successful
voyage, but both Captain and Boatswain found it wise to stay on board in case the
authorities needed to speak to one of them. Also they thought the entertainment in
the German city remarkably expensive and were old and wise enough to keep the money
on them till they went home. The price of an hour with a hooker here was enough to
pay for a week with a high-quality courtesan at home. And while the beer here was
very nice it cost so much in a bar that you could buy 10 cans of it in a store for
the same price.
During the day they had their fill of looking at the German wonders: the horseless
Chariots, the moving pictures, the incredible roads and house-but that had been
free of charge and now their minds were filled fit to burst.

"So Felix, how do you think we can do better next trip-if you think we should come
here again that is"
"Sure as sure we should-this trip will make us all a lot of money, even if we
deduct the investors part and tax. And these days the trip is safer. So what went
well: The "off-the ship" sale of scrimshaws and wooden ship models was one of the
best ideas we ever had. We really have to thank Captain Herbst for that tip. They
pay ridiculous amounts of money for the models or for narwhal tooth carvings. My
nephew made a ship model just 1 meter long last winter and some idiot paid me 150
Euros for it. I also got drawings and the magical pictures they call "photos" for
commissions if we come back in 3 months-I think we should."
"Yes, we really should. The Cherry wood we took also brought a good price. They
tell me they carve the wood into just millimeter-thick slices and glue them on top
of cheap wood."
"Ha-that sounds like the Germans"
"Right it does. I have great hopes for the water barrels that we bought. The
shipschandler swears that it will keep the water fresh, not like the goo we get
after the first week. Am also looking forward how these sealable jars work out-they
say if we place food inside and place them inside boiling water for a while they
contents will not spoil for a long time-and that without smoking or salting."

"Good for our next trips-but what of our return cargo-think we made the right
calls" "The paper is incredible-cheap, very even and white. If we can keep it dry
it will made us wealthy. They still pay nearly the equivalent weight in silver for
good paper back home in the places these new railways do not reach yet. Also some
of the spices and cloths will bring a good price. We just should be careful with
these pictures and magazines we bought-we should sell them before the Sigmar
priests throw a tantrum."
Please make sure that the crew does not make any blots on them before we reach port
will ya"
"Yes, yes-but you have to admit they are nice"
"If you like them slim and hairless below the eyebrows-…."

"But next time we know about the local taxes-19% Sales tax is quite a lot" "Aye, we
have to remember that and keep less receipts-or calculate that up front"
"And then there was the trip to the Meyer Shipyard"
"Manann be praised-that was incredible-literally. Best spend 10 Euros in my life.
The building dock is so big they could place the temple of Sigmar in Altdorf 4
times in there"
"Yes, I heard the guide say it was the biggest closed building dock on their old
world-and it sure is here. More than 500 meters long"
"Have you seen the "Imperial Eagle" crane in it-there is a picture of it lifting a
ship heavier than ours through all of the dock"
"Yup I have-and I saw that ship they build in there which is bigger than a palace-
and it is just for fun and holidays. Think about what warships they could build in
there."
"Why do you think they did not show us the second dock-the small one just 300
meters long-think they are cleaning house and do not want to show us the untidy
parts?"
"There is that"

"But you know the most interesting part?"

"What do you think off?"
"Did you see the models of their old ships? Just 200 year ago they were building
ships not better than ours. Just think about it-with the Germans help my grandson
might be Captain of a wonder like we saw yesterday-and it would be build in the
Empire."
"That would be a sight to see. What also would be interesting to see is what the
Germans will be doing in 200 years as I cannot see them standing still for any
length of time. I even asked the guide about that and you know what he told me?
Then we build ships to go to the stars-that's what he said. And I do not think he
was joking"
"Sigmar wept" Both men emptied their Steins and filled them again before resuming
the conversation.

"Did you go to the exhibition room of the Landwehr"

"I did when you went to that questionnaire". They are quite proud of their City
Soldiers here-seems they stopped a Druchii raid cold last year"
"Yes, I heard about that one-didn`t believe much of that till I saw this city"
"Seems like they had to fight everything the damn Elves have-Corsairs, Cold Ones
and even a bleeding Dragon-and killed them all. They even had to rescue some of
their professional soldiers."
"I just saw the motto above the entrance to their quarters. "Spitzohren sind unsere
Spezialität" (Spitzohren are our specialty) – they are not bashful aren`t they"
"If they did what they say they earned it"
"Aye they…." Both men were interrupted by a "Ship ahoi" from the quay. The local
lawmen which had issued it explained quite nicely that they had to get their
crewmen out of the local gaol and that the owner of a local pub might forego
pressing charges if damages could be paid .